"NATO continues to expand its geographical scope and the range of operations and engages in bloc politics and confrontation. This is not conducive to global security and stability," the statement emphasized, TASS reported.
"We call on NATO to abandon the Cold War mentality and ideological bias, respect the sovereignty, security, interests as well as the diversity of civilizations, history and culture of other countries," the document said.
It noted that "NATO is a Cold War remnant," adding that "China believes that regional security should not be guaranteed by strengthening or expanding military blocs." According to the statement, NATO should "do more to increase mutual trust among countries and maintain regional peace and stability."
On Monday, at a press conference in Brussels, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that a joint statement issued by China and Russia following the Beijing meeting of the two leaders should be viewed as an attempt to deny sovereign nations the right to make their own choices, stressing that the alliance’s doors remained open.
On February 4, Russian President Vladimir Putin attended the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics. On Friday, he met with his Chinese counterpart XI Jinping.
This was the Russian leader’s first visit to China since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. During the top level talks, the joint statement by Moscow and Beijing was adopted on international relations entering a new era and on sustainable global development.